Blockbuster is launching its set-top box film rental service, in a bid to compete with US rival, Netflix. The MoviePoint player, developed in partnership with device maker 2Wire, goes on sale in the US from this week and offers pay-on-demand rentals rather than subscription services. ...
Sony BMG tracks are now available to download via ad-supported download site Qtrax after the firms agreed to a new licensing deal. Sony BMG is the third major label to sign up to the Qtrax service, which allows users to download songs for free. Universal signed up to the...
Consumer goods giant Procter & Gamble (P&G) is buying a GBP5m (USD7.7m) stake in Ocado, as part of a new funding round for the online food retailer. Ocado has raised GBP18m (USD27.7m) in the round, brining total funding in the loss-making firm to GBP295.5m - more than any other...
Soft drink company Red Bull will be the first brand to advertise in Sony's Playstation 3 virtual world, Home. The company is reportedly builing a tropical island in the game, where users can race a branded Red Bull aeroplane. The promotion ties in with a series real-life air races...
Online TV platform Joost is boosting its programme library by signing deals with 11 new content partners. These include online video distributor Film Chest, independent studio and management company Generate and Rajshir Media, the online and mobile arm of Indian production studio Rajshiri Group. Content from Farmers' Almanac TV,...
Google abandoned its search ad deal with rival Yahoo! just three hours before the US Department of Justice DOJ was due to file an antitrust lawsuit alleging Google has a monopoly on the online ad market, claims a lawyer involved in the proceedings. ...
CBS Radio will power Yahoo!'s online radio service, LAUNCHcast, under a new partnership deal. From early 2009, CBS will control ad sales for the platform. It will also make its own stations available through an integrated CBS Radio player. by Andrew McDonald
Video-on-demand VoD firm, SeaChange, is acquiring UK-based mobile video business, Mobix Interactive. The deal was made through SeaChange's On Demand Group ODG subsidiary and was completed last week. SeaChange paid GBP3m (USD4.5m) with another GBP8.3m (USD12.5m) to follow over three years, based on Mobix's performance. ...
Dish Network co-founder, James DeFranco, has bought 800,000 company shares, valued at USD8.06m, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing. News of the sale comes days after the satellite TV and DVR firm's share price hit a year low of USD8.34 per share. ...
The Independent is set to merge its offices with The Daily Mail in a bid to cut costs. Under the deal, Independent News and Media INM will share back-room office services and will have its own dedicated space at Associated...
Yahoo! is making the first of 1,500 job cuts and says harsher redundancies could follow next year. The move, first announced in October, aims to reduce annual costs by USD400m and comes as one of Yahoo!'s biggest shareholders puts renewed pressure on the firm to reach a deal with...
Former AOL CEO Jonathan Miller is reportedly in talks to raise up to USD30bn in a bid to buy all or part of Yahoo!. Miller, who is a founding member of VC firm Velocity, has been in discussions with investors for months and aims to make a per-share offer...
Microsoft is in talks to acquire Yahoo! Search for USD20bn, in a deal that could see the software giant bringing in a new management team at Yahoo!, according to a Sunday Times report. Microsoft and Yahoo! are reportedly in agreement...
US ebook retailer, BooksOnBoard is partnering with Lexcycle to bring a new range of titles to Lexcycle's iPhone e-book app, Stanza. The free app, had been downloaded almost 400,000 times, according to figures released last month, putting it at the front of the US e-book market. ...
Microsoft's CEO Steve Ballmer says the software giant will not re-bid for Yahoo!, but that it is "very open" to a search ad deal. Speaking at Microsoft's annual shareholder meeting in Washington State, Ballmer says Microsoft has "moved on" and is "done with all acquisition discussions," reports the Wall...
Veoh is partnering with SanDisk to allow users to download content from the video-streaming site direct to SanDisk USB devices. Web Player for SanDisk, which will initially roll out on SanDisk's Cruzer-branded flash drives, will let users watch saved videos offline on any PC. The launch builds on the...
Ubisoft has acquired Swedish games studio Massive Entertainment from its parent company, Activision Blizzard, for an undisclosed sum. Activision has been looking to sell the asset for three months after Activision's recent merger with Vivendi made the unit surplus to needs, reports Digital Spy. ...
Microsoft is close to agreeing a deal with Verizon that will establish Live Search as the default browser on the mobile operator's handsets, reports the Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the deal. Reports that the firms are holding talks first emerged last week. ...
Dell is replacing its existing search deal with Google and is in the process of negotiating a new deal with Microsoft. The new will reportedly see new PCs sold with Microsoft's Live Search toolbar pre-installed, according to online rumours. The...
A deal struck between Universal Music and Meebo will see ad-supported music videos on the instant-messaging site. In return, Meebo's messaging services will be integrated into Universal's official artist pages to offer real-time chats among fans. The deal builds on...
